BHP Billiton’s focus turns to Eagle Ford liquids

BHP Billiton Petroleum, the Houston-based oil and gas arm of the Australian mining giant, is focusing its U.S. onshore drilling on its Black Hawk field in the Eagle Ford Shale.

The company said Wednesday that about 75 percent of its onshore drilling activity is in the Eagle Ford, mostly in what it calls its Black Hawk acreage in DeWitt and Karnes counties.

In the 9-month period that ended in March, BHP spent about $3.4 billion on U.S. onshore drilling and development.

The company said it has also completed “well remediation activities” in its Hawkville acreage in McMullen, La Salle and Live Oak counties.

The company expects to make 107 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2014 in its U.S. onshore acreage. BHP is drilling fewer gas wells and is more focused on oil and condensate. It has shifted away from drilling its Haynesville Shale acreage (a gas field) to drill more on the liquids-rich areas of the Eagle Ford.

“Production in the Eagle Ford accelerated at the end of the March 2014 quarter and we continue to expect growth in onshore U.S. liquids production of approximately 75 percent for the full year as a significant inventory of completed wells is brought online,” the company said.